Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Central Park: 59-Year-Old Tourist Hurt By Falling Tree Branch

A 59-year-old woman lays on the ground this afternoon in Central Park after being struck by a tree limb (left) on her head. She suffered a broken arm chipped teeth as a result from falling. A dog walker was also struck by a tree limb today in Carl Schurz Park in Manhattan earlier today witnesses said. (Photo: Courtesy @charleylhasa via Gothamist)
Manhattan
By Geoffrey CroftA 59-year-old tourist from Terre Haute Indiana was hit by falling tree branch in Central Park this afternoon, the second person to be struck in the park by a tree limb in less than a week.

Sharon Reese was walking with her husband when a 3 inch in diameter branch from an Oak tree suddenly snapped and fell three stories hitting her in the head city sources said.

She was transported to St. Lukes Roosevelt Hospital.

The damaged Oak tree. (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge
The incident occurred inside the park on an asphalt path about 50 yards from a park entrance at West 86th Street and Central Park West just after 3:30pm.

The woman temporarily lost consciousness and initially could not remember what had happened to her according to city sources.

"It's scary," said jogger Penelope Clark who saw the victim shortly after the incident. "I saw a woman lying on the ground. She had a bandage wrapped around her head, a giant branch on the ground. She had blood on her head."

Central Park Conservancy workers quickly loaded the broken limb into the back of a pick-up truck and carted it away.

1 comment:

You know, I would love to see statistics comparing the number of injuries from falling trees and branches in recent years to the past. I would suspect they have vastly increased. In the not-so-distant past, I never heard of such injuries let alone deaths that now seem commonplace. Sure, storms are getting stronger but trees and branches are falling even when it's not particularly windy, and all too often they look rotten inside.

If you want to protect trees AND people, you should check out: http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2013/01/29/whispers-from-the-ghosting-trees/